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Saturday, May 18, 2013

Two Generals, Two Towns, Two Tornadoes

My thoughts this week are with my fellow Texans who were struck by a series of tornadoes earlier this week. Two of the towns hit by the storms were Granbury and Cleburne. Now, I am sure that Civil War Addicts already knew this, but the towns were named for Confederate generals.

Hiram Granbury, a Mississippi native, moved to Waco, Texas as a young man. He enlisted in the 7th Texas Infantry and was elected Major. By the Tennessee Campaign of 1864, he commanded a brigade made up of several Texas regiments. None other than General Patrick Cleburne called Granbury's Texas Brigade a "Band of Heroes". Granbury was killed leading his men into battle at Franklin on November 30, 1864. His last words were "Forward, men, forward! Never let it be said that Texans lag in a fight!"

General Patrick Cleburne, a native of Ireland, served in the British Army before immigrating to the United States. He found himself living in Arkansas prior to the war. When the Civil War began, he enlisted as a private in the Yell Rifles and was later elected captain. By 1864 he was a division commander in the Army of Tennessee. His chances for greater promotion were destroyed by his proposal to free the slaves in exchange for military service. But his troops were some of the best the Confederacy had to offer. Like his subordinate Hiram Granbury, General Cleburne was killed leading his division into combat at Franklin.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the citizens of these towns as they recover from Mother Nature's wrath.

My name is Lee Hutch and I am a Civil War Addict.

P.S. Sherman, Texas is named after Sidney Sherman, not William T. Sherman!

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